How A Few Would Have STOLEN US$57 Million From Liberia-Martin K.N. Kollie

Do not read this right now. Reach home first, and take your time to review everything, including the attachments. It might shock you beyond imagination.

We welcome the government’s latest pronouncement on the renegotiation of the 285 yellow machines.

The facts are out. The truth is stubborn. This is the document that they never wanted to release. It is what they don’t want you to see and hear. But we are releasing it. Our work is to open your eyes to everything. This is how we rescued US$57 million from being stolen.

A few corrupt and greedy people would have gotten very RICH out of the Liberian people for a lifetime. They would have been millionaires overnight. We had to prevent this from happening.

All the rush you saw between May and July 2024 about “The Yellow Machines” was intended to rob you, the Liberian people, of a whopping US$57 million. But we had to resist fearlessly, and we kept resisting for more than six months. Eventually, the US$79 million shady deal was stalled due to the consistent alarms we raised through electronic, print, and social media.

Some even attacked us, blasting and claiming that “we hate development,” but we were and are still concerned about Value for Money (VfM). Now you all know why they were in such a hurry and even dished out tens of thousands of U.S. dollars in PR to shield this $79 million SCANDAL of a so-called “development project” from collapsing. This was an entire syndicate. That’s why they never wanted to follow procurement and legislative processes as required and where necessary.

The media is reporting a total cost of US$43 million after the Ministry of Information announced this afternoon that the re-negotiated cost is down to US$22 million from US$43 million for the same quality and quantity of 285 yellow machines. The truth is that the total cost was not US$43 million. Instead, it was US$79 million. As an activist, we have a national duty to speak truth to power and keep our people accurately informed.

Let’s provide the facts; the attachments will shock all Liberians and speak for themselves, detailing the GM Log Model, Type, Quantity, Unit Price, and Total Amount for the 285 yellow machines. These prices were intentionally manufactured and overly inflated to rob you, the Liberian people. The people who did this to Liberia and Liberians must be made to account. This is not just a dereliction of duty but broad-day corruption. The breakdown is below, as indicated on page 8 of the attached Financing Agreement:

1) SMG200 Motor Grader – 19 pieces – US$4,419,006.70

2) Trailer Truck Loadbed 3XL – 19 – US$3,246,606

3) SSR120C-10 Single Drum Roller – 19 – US$2,034,317.27

4) Sany Fuel Tanker – 19 – US$4,089,465

5) Atlas CPCO Jack Hammer + Generator Pump – 19 – US$669,446

6) SY335C912KH Excavator – 19 – US$5,362,493.50

7) SYZ320C-8W(R) Tipper Truck – 76 – US$10,136,389.04

8)SW955 Front Loader – 19 – US$2,774,676

9) BHL75A Backhoe Loader (TLB) – 19 – US$1,774,676

10) Shantui SD22 Dozer – 19 – US$7,935,236

11) Water Tanker SinoTruck – 19 – US$2,139,957.27

12) Pick Izuzu Mobile Service Units + Tools – 19 – US$1,855,622.08

13) Finance, Insurance, Parts, Oil, Lubes – US$32,916,622.74

14) Total – 285 Machines + Tools – US$79,354,267

Look on page 7 and see the repayment plan: First Down Payment US$19.8 million on February 1, 2025; Second Payment US$19.8 million on or before February 1, 2026; Third Payment US$19.8 million on or before February 1, 2027; and Fourth Payment US$19.8 million on or before February 1, 2028.

This is approximately US$79.4 million. According to the government as pronounced, the total cost for the same 285 machines has been reduced to US$22 million after the renegotiation. Please do the math. Subtract $22 million from $79 million. What do you have? US$57 million. They would have STOLEN $57 million from you, the Liberian people, had we not raised the alarm for over six months. Imagine, they had already started importing some of the machines based on this first US$79 million criminal syndicate of an agreement.

Even when we yelled through our advocacy with all of our facts (due diligence), including invoices/proformas of far-lesser prices from the same yellow machine companies in China, they still insisted and imported a few pieces of yellow machines through this SCAM deal. They had a motive to rob you of US$57 million. But we could not and did not allow them. We kept resisting and exposing them at every stage. This is how we saved US$57M from economic sabotage and potential kickbacks.

We thank the government for renegotiating this deal to a reduced cost of US$22 million to be paid in 3 years. We welcome it because our roads need to be rehabilitated and paved.

1) We call for the immediate suspension of Minister Sylvester Grigsby and Minister Mamaka Bility, who spearheaded the scandalous US$79 million negotiation and criminal agreement that would have led to a whopping US$57 million loss to Liberia. This was a well-organized SCANDAL. People must account for this.

2) We call on the government to be open and transparent about the US$22 million renegotiated deal. Provide full details (full disclosure) of the new deal and ensure that it complies with the procurement processes if it requires bidding and legislative ratification if it is a pre-financing deal.

3) While we expect the importation of the 285 machines, we encourage the government to commission/conduct a quick need-based study. The study should fundamentally answer the questions: How will the machines be fueled and maintained (e.g; sustainability); Do we have enough trained operators, mechanics, and road engineers to operate 285 machines at once or simultaneously (e.g.; manpower and wear-and-tear); How do we recruit them and through what means would they get paid (e.g.; financial resources); How did we arrive at 19 machines for each county even though the prevailing road needs across various counties vary (e.g., distribution based on need)?

Immediately, when the Government announced this yellow machine deal in May 2024 at a retreat, we were the first to raise the alarm. Please click this link to read one of our many critiques or disagreements in May 2024 https://www.facebook.com/share/1BzHq1i3EC/?mibextid=wwXIfr. In this critique, we asked eight ( questions that are still relevant today. Let it be known that we love Liberia and Liberians far more, and we won’t back down on asking the hard questions.

Imagine we would have lost $57 million just like that. Do you know what 57 million USD can do for a poor country like Liberia? Liberia is losing tens of millions to procurement fraud and economic sabotage every year. The suffering in Liberia is artificial; It is man-made. Greed and Graft (Corruption) are on an industrial scale. This is why and what we must fight against.

About The Author: Martin K. N. Kollie is an exiled Liberian activist and a former student leader in Liberia.

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